Page 24 of Full House

“On what?”

“If you’re impressed.”

She gave him a sly smile. “I might be.”

He gave her the smirk she loved so much. “Then I might be trying to impress.”

He helped her from the car then took her hand as they strolled through the parking lot and down the pier. There were quite a few boats still docked—commercial-sized and smaller personal use ones—it was one of the latter Nate stopped in front of.

“This is it. What do you think? They say the smaller the boat, the closer you can get to the action.”

Victoria grinned. “That’s not what they usually say.”

Nate tugged her hand, pulling her closer to his side, shaking his head “Ha, ha.”

“I’m excited. I’ve never been on a boat in the ocean before.” Victoria frowned. “I hope I don’t get seasick.”

“They’ve got patches on board if you start to feel queasy.” Nate pulled out his phone, typed a text, and got an almost immediate response. “Mack will be here in a minute.”

“Mack?”

“Our captain for the day.” She saw him looking around, his eyes landing on a bait and tackle shop. “Come on.” He started pulling her that direction. “I want to get you a hat. Even though it’s overcast, I’m worried your cheeks will get burned.”

“I don’t think that’s necessary. I put on sunscreen.”

“It will shield you from the wind, then.”

Victoria laughed. “Why do I get the feeling you just want to see me in a hat?”

Nate shot her a grin. “You’ve caught me. I have a secret hat fetish no one’s discovered about me yet.”

Victoria chuckled. “Then, by all means, let’s live out your fantasy.”

The store was small and cramped, and they had to twist their bodies sideways to navigate the aisles. “Boy, this place is stuffed to the gills.”

Nate barked a laugh. “Pun intended?”

Victoria winked. “You know it. Can’t pass up those rare golden opportunities in life.”

They reached a back shelf that held a variety of hats, and Nate asked, “So, what do you think?”

Victoria held up her hands. “Hey, it’s your fantasy. You do the selecting.”

He fingered a monstrosity of a hat before picking it up and placing it on her head. The brim fell down, covering her eyes and nose. “Well, this will definitely protect me from the wind. Won’t get much whale watching done, though.”

“Were you born a smartass?” Nate asked, pulling the hat from her head.

“Probably, but you’d need to ask my parents to be sure.”

Nate grinned, shaking his head as he selected another floppy hat—one with a smaller brim—and positioned it on her head. “I like this one.”

“Wait, before you decide, let me give you the full effect.” She turned, walking a few feet away, executing an exaggerated “model” turn and stance before walking back.

Nate gave a low wolf whistle that had Victoria chuckling and smacking him on the shoulder with the hat.

Nate pulled the deadly weapon from her grasp. “Were you ever a model?”

“Is it that obvious? Yeah, I walked the runway in my teens. Lasted about a year before I figured out I hated it.”

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